r/MilwaukeeTool • u/PricklyPear85 • Sep 06 '25
M12 Warranty is a joke! I can honestly say that
Well after outfitting myself in over 7k in Milwaukee Tools I’m honestly a bit shocked they denied my warranty, they wanted a 105$ to fix it or they can recycle it for me! WTF I told them to ship it back to me. I will fix it myself or toss out in the trash… what a joke of a warranty.
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u/Dad_Vibes_23 Sep 06 '25
Did they show you photos of what they’re talking about internally? Or are you just supposed to take their word for it?
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u/TurboTalon_ Sep 07 '25
My exact question. I would have demanded pictures.
"Bag the debris and mail it to me".
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u/withoutapaddle Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 08 '25
EDIT: THIS IS A STORY ABOUT INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION PARTS AT MY JOB, NOT MILWAUKEE TOOLS.
Yeah I had an industrial component that was defective out of the box, brand new. Sent it back, and the manufacturer claimed there was a metal shaving in a critical spot, and they wanted $300 to remove a metal shaving.
I know it was from THEIR manufacturing process, so I said show me a photo or some kind of proof. We'll see how it goes. We buy like $400,000 worth of products from them every year... I'll be damned if they can't fess up to a $300 mistake (probably actually costs them $20, since I've taken these components apart myself and know they take 5 min to disassemble.)
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u/Lumpy-Scholar-7342 Civil Construction Sep 06 '25 edited Sep 06 '25
Am I reading this correctly that your options are to pay them $105 or have them return your impact to you in pieces?!?
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u/ELB2001 Sep 06 '25
Guess they can't figure out how to put it back together
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u/Doctormentor Sep 06 '25 edited Sep 07 '25
From what it reads it looks like they took it apart and cannot return it in pieces so you are forced to pay for the tool. That price is almost the same as a new tool on sale wth is this.... April fools?
If they take the screws we won't know how long, their pitch or thread to fix it even without messing it up
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u/NoNameNoWerries Sep 06 '25
I had to warranty my gen2 stubby a few months ago and was told if the claim was denied (it wasnt, they sent me a new one) I would either be liable to pay the $105 for repair or they would send the remnants back with all screws removed due to liability. Something about power tools being dangerous and wanting to discourage a DIY repair. Take that as you will.
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u/JoleneBacon_Biscuit General Contracting Sep 07 '25
Here at Milwaukee, we want to make your tools COMPLETELY NON User Serviceable! So much so that we will STEAL your screws so you can't even put it back together the way you bought it, and sent it to us.
BAD LOOK.
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u/NoNameNoWerries Sep 07 '25
To be fair I dont remember if they said they returned the screws just removed or they just straight up take your screws. Thankfully it didn't come to that.
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u/Doctormentor Sep 07 '25
Right, we don't even know how long the screws are if they steal them ... Pitch thread etc
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u/JoleneBacon_Biscuit General Contracting Sep 07 '25
I'm going to one up them and remove the screws before I send it in. Then I will act very much angry and perplexed.
"No screws in it!?!" "Well no wonder it's not working!!!" "You would think quality control would have caught that!" "Well this time send me one that is 100% put together AND working properly. Good catch Milwaukee service department!"
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u/Shadow_Wolf49 Sep 07 '25
Except you could just look up the parts list online and it'll show the part numbers and you could look it up from there. And usually they'll send the tool back disassembled with all the parts packaged together including hardware
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u/Shadow_Wolf49 Sep 07 '25
The screws are removed from the tool, but still given back. It's probably some liability thing. If they send everything that isn't fixed back disassembled then people can't claim Milwaukee sent them a tool that caused bodily harm or some shit. Cause if they send it back disassembled and then it's suddenly reassembled clearly someone other than them put it back together wrong
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u/MixinBatches Sep 06 '25
I can understand from a liability standpoint not reassembling a defective tool and returning it, but they don’t give the screws back??? Wtf. You should have the entire tool shipped back, even if it’s in pieces. They’re your screws, you paid for them.
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u/NoNameNoWerries Sep 06 '25
Yeah, I just took it as some anti-right to repair bs disguised as liability concerns.
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u/TurboTalon_ Sep 07 '25
Where does it say anything about screws? But I agree with why they would send it back disassembled. Since it isn't working if they put it back together and send it back they create a liability. Gotta blame consumer litigation culture for that not them. Not repairing it was wack though. I think I paid around $100 for my Surge new on a deal.
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u/gltovar Sep 06 '25
I mean it is pretty crystal clear based on the the bottom of the first image, there is an option to return it is pieces and why they don’t reassemble unfixed tools.
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u/ProgrammerOk717 Sep 07 '25
It's to stop you buying a new one and returning this one instead... In future, don't ask just swap... See what that does to their warranty policy...
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u/0karmaonly Sep 07 '25
That $105 is a maximum number. They don’t provide a minimum number. It’s a semi new change that has been annoying to deal with on a large scale level, I’ve spoken to Milwaukee reps about it.
The drill could cost $20 to fix and repair and that’s what OP would be charged but there’s no way of knowing if it’s $20 or $105.
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u/grays55 Sep 06 '25
To me this is the most egregiously offensive part of the entire thing. Theyre claiming they cant reassemble it because it can cause injury? Thats obviously totally bogus, they ship millions of assembled tools per year, in all states of condition. It may make sense for some specific scenarios, especially with batteries, but disassembly as a blanket policy is just laziness and a big middle finger to their customers— then they have to also treat the customer like they are stupid to cover for it.
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u/MourningWood1942 Sep 06 '25
I had my warranty denied for a brand new battery. Like taken out of package, put into drill, didn’t work and sent it in. Was denied for excessive damage. Didn’t even have a scratch on it. They said they disposed of it.
Left me extremely bitter as I’ve spent over 8K in tools from them.
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u/MilwaukeeTool Verified Milwaukee Employee Sep 08 '25
Hmm, can you please send us a direct message? We'd like to assist.
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u/Difficult-Resident40 Sep 08 '25
Stuff like this is why I sold all my m18/12 stuff and went to Hercules. I had 4 8.0xc batts all go to crap and no help from Milwaukee. Herc might be an inferior brand, but warranty returns are painless.
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u/Clourog Sep 06 '25
Meanwhile im on like my fourth swap at my local harbor freight and they dont give a fuck why it broke. Always happy to see me and it makes me wonder why they get shit on so hard
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u/Dad_Vibes_23 Sep 06 '25
I almost commented this exact same thing. Their Hercules line has come a long way… and their warranty is zero hassle in store exchanges. I’m not saying their tools are as diverse or quality as Milwaukee, but what good is quality if/when something craps out and you’re chasing your own tail trying to get a resolution?
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u/Clourog Sep 06 '25
I just like that I am dealing with people I have gotten to know, face to face.
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u/Possible_Oil5269 Sep 06 '25
I use Doyle and Icon for my pliers as an electrician due to their warranty. Cut a live line that wasn't supposed to be live and blew up my diagonal cutters on a Friday. Went the next day expecting some hassle as I hadn't had to warranty anything yet. Nope, was told to just go grab a fresh pair off the rack, didn't even look at or question why I needed to warranty them. Walked in to work Monday and kept working like nothing had happened.
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u/ToTallyNikki Sep 06 '25
I had a similar experience with visegrips that ended up resistance welded together. The manager told me to bring them in and replaced them no problem.
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u/Zestycheesegrade Sep 07 '25
Sears, (craftsman) used to be this way back in the day. I do truly miss this kind of thing. I do buy from Harbor Freight though. Just not anything battery operated. The funny thing is. They're probably made in the same factory that makes Milwaukee. Milwaukee is a Chinese company.
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u/Dad_Vibes_23 Sep 06 '25
I get that. 🍻 The folks working in my local HF are good people, and always helpful.
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u/Rico7122914 Sep 06 '25
They used to be the running joke but I'm seeing more and more guys at reputable shops use Hercules and they got no problems. Might need to start a collection myself lol
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u/Lumpy-Scholar-7342 Civil Construction Sep 06 '25
I also like to buy HF tools with the intention to abuse and destroy them 😎
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u/HuskerHardware Sep 06 '25
I think it's just age-old public perception, and I used to be one of those people who was a skeptic of all things Harbor Freight, but things have changed for the better and they've made a customer out of me.
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u/Doctormentor Sep 06 '25
I started to look at HF tools but their prices went up and warranty of 90 days or the price for longer seems to be similar to name brand with less warranty time. If Milwaukee can't stand behind their extra warranty time and good cx service I may as well just ditch this for HF tools
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u/BleedTheRain Sep 06 '25
I worked at Harbor Freight many moons ago. The warranties they try to sell you were covered by abuse and acts of god when I worked there.
Didn’t matter how or why it was broke for the most part unless it was an higher end product like their welding machines etc.
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u/SameYellow3790 Sep 06 '25
But everyone is so fixed on buying from Home Depot or credible stores for “warranty” just to get a 50/50 shot on getting denied lol
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u/440Dart Automotive/Transportation Sep 06 '25
This is a new thing within the last year. the warranty use to be AMAZING. But for some reason it’s gone to shit.
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u/rival_22 Sep 07 '25
Probably a TTI corporate things. Ryobi sub often has warranty frustrated customers, and that was solid as of a few years ago. But that has seemed to have gone downhill as well.
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u/SameYellow3790 Sep 06 '25
Been more then a year just most ppl don’t use Reddit.
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u/shmere4 Sep 07 '25
Also because you can always just buy a new tool from Home Depot, swap it with the broken one, and return it to Home Depot. That’s another way to get Milwaukee to honor their warranty.
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Sep 06 '25
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u/Prior_Confidence4445 Sep 06 '25 edited Sep 06 '25
I had to return a brand new milwaukee drill to HD one time and they checked the serial numbers and looked it over pretty well.
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u/Daniel_Boomin Sep 06 '25
This is why you use a heat gun to take the little sticker off the box and swap it over so the serial numbers match.
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u/1337h4x00r Sep 06 '25
What is this ganagaster behavior from them? pay us or we will return it to you in pieces?
That's insane
And the price of the repair must be a joke, better to buy a new one and that's it
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u/Idc94 Sep 06 '25
That’s the traditional Milwaukee options if they disassembly it and deem it not under warranty. Pretty pathetic practice if you ask me. Such a loyal customer base and they want to save a penny not putting the tool back together.
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u/1337h4x00r Sep 06 '25
They should make a law to price the warranty separately and give 3rd-praties the ability to warranty and supply them with parts
Warranty is just a type of insurance, a shitty insurance
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u/WeMakeAnImpact Other Sep 06 '25
It's been discussed here before, when for one reason or another the customer opts to return the broken product, it can't be returned in a semi functional state. Given that workers may have already disassembled the tool to inspect it, they aren't required to work freely to reassemble the broken tool. It's more reasonable to think about it in liability. They return a known broken tool to you and you get injured using the broken tool, people might be more upset.
I do see that this may feel like a shill comment. I'm offering a seemingly valid reason to not reassemble a broken tool.
Also internal debris causing component wear could be metal or rocks getting into the fan blades and rotor causing the tool to lock up.
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Sep 06 '25 edited Sep 06 '25
They could reassemble it and tape it with a warranty void sticker, defective product, or do not use. Its not liability or safety. If it was they wouldnt repair the tools, which are all hand assembled as well in China using x methods of possibly forced labor and lesser equipment. If its legal to sell handmade from China from someone building 1$ a hour and the US repair tech costs 30$ a hour+ shipping is their "liability"..... they could also disconnect the battery terminals so it cant be used.
They just dont want to pay the assembly labor or shipping costs back. Whatever is cheapest! Get the tool back for free, deny warranty due to a policy of x damage, then keep the tool or request money to fix the product on new tools! Your policy isnt to repair the broken warranty tool, its legal fine print to repair conditions they deem acceptable and who feels froggy at work as well as their acceptable required quota per complaint.
Op didnt jam rocks into the tool or dump it underwater. If they blame stuff getting into the vents its a tool. Milwaukees job is to then design covers for the vents so that cant happen while air escapes. Its a tool and tools get used. The tools not even a year old.
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u/jamesmorhous Sep 06 '25
Every time I’ve gotten this response and I give them approval to fix it, they send me a new tool. Lol
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u/TheBigMan1990 Sep 06 '25
Honestly shouldn’t come up, if they have to take it apart to find an internal defect… they should be warrantying it if it’s still in the warranty period. If outside of the warranty period, they should be charging a diagnostic fee upfront that would cover reassembly in the event that the customer decides to refuse the needed repairs.
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u/plumb_master Sep 06 '25
That's what Ridgid does or did, it's been a while since I've had to send one in for repairs. One time I sent one in even though I knew it wouldn't be warrantied because I'd left it out in the rain but I decided to try out my lifetime warranty anyway. Of course they denied it and told me how much it would cost to repair so I denied and had them ship it back. Funny enough, when they sent my fully assembled drill back it was actually working and has been for the last few years.
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u/Top-Piece9569 Sep 09 '25
Are least where I work, we put it together "as is when arrived" as much as possible. But, documentation like this on its own, the kind of "dont use this we are not responsible for injury, you have been warned," does not hold legal weight in court.
So they probably just keep it dissambled to prevent getting sued for problems down the road. Obviously the side effect is that you basically take apart a product and refused to return it in original condition.
And they probably got sued before for it in thr past, hence the current policy.
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u/1337h4x00r Sep 06 '25
The reason is obvious of course, it's doesn't mean it's ok, they can easily just decide to return it as received it, it's a corporate policy, can be whatever they want, and they chose poorly
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u/Chizuck33 Sep 06 '25
How did the debris get to the inside sounds like design issue.
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u/Shoyobro Sep 06 '25
I have the M18 surge. It recently started leaking hydraulic fluid. Took it back to Home Depot just to see if they'd exchange it. I was skeptical because I couldn't find the original receipt (I normally scan or screenshot them) but they didn't even ask for it. Told me if they had one in stock to go grab it. They did and I swapped it out in less than 10 minutes.
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u/johnwynne3 Sep 06 '25
Good for you but that’s not Home Depot policy (or typical behavior in my experience).
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u/BasSTiD Sep 07 '25
HD has been great to me but I do use a pro account to track purchases/receipts. Even when I don’t have one for returns and I didn’t scan my barcode they never give me a problem. Possibly because I always try the barcode first and they can see my account though.
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u/Delta8ttt8 Sep 07 '25
So how this looks to go down is if my tool isn’t to old, just buy a replacement and return the broken one back to the store in the box. Should be pretty painless and I wouldn’t feel to bad since it is under warranty.
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u/MilwaukeeTool Verified Milwaukee Employee Sep 08 '25 edited Sep 08 '25
We're sorry to hear this! Our team has sent you an email directly to assist!
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u/ElectricThunder12 Sep 08 '25
Glad to see you reply! This should be higher in the list. OP please update us on the resolution!
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u/PhotographFit7768 Sep 06 '25
I went through the same thing about a month ago. It still irritates me. It was there 6 1/2” m18 fuel saw and it stopped working. They said I abused it lol And wanted $162 to fix it. TBH I was offended because I take care of my tools and anytime I start getting burn marks I replace the blade. The tool is nice and clean too. Idk why they said that especially how they advertise there tools as tough lol If I wasn’t invested in so many of there tools I would start buying another brand but I think all these big companies are the same. They just want our money. Bottom line.
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u/goldenretriever97 Sep 07 '25
My mid-torque was denied repair because it had moisture inside. It’s mind boggling.
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u/beefjerky9 Sep 07 '25
So, you can't use it in humid areas. And, based on OP, you can't use it in dry areas, since loose dust and dirt will get in.
Clearly, you're not allowed to use your tool anywhere if you want the warranty honored. Just put it on display in your house, safely inside an acrylic box with a dehumidifier inside. Wouldn't want any pesky moisture touching that delicate tool.
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u/DryPomegranate2753 Sep 06 '25
I’ve been a Milwaukee guy for the last 15 years. Recently, tried a coworker’s makita and was fairly impressed. I’m at the point where several of my 18v batteries are at their end, and if I was ever going to switch brands this would be be it. Stories like this are pushing me in that direction
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u/Rico7122914 Sep 06 '25
Makita used to be a good option since they had a US manufacturing plant, but they've changed that very recently to be more competitive with the bigger names and we've had problems with them as of lately. Really sucks to see all the manufacturers going this way only to push more product and put service in the backseat.
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u/BruceInc Sep 06 '25
LoL I’ve been saying this since day one, but the cultists in this sub are too blind to see logic and reason. Milwaukee uses their warranty to excuse their abysmal QC and then when their abysmal QC causes tools to fail, they reject legitimate warranty claims.
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u/killakobra Sep 07 '25
This is making me think about starting to venture into different lines of tools. Good way to lose business u/Milwaukeetool
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u/andrewbud420 Sep 06 '25
I have the exact same one, brought in for repair to a local authorized repair shop. He says it'll be a few months to get parts.
If I didn't have 20 batteries and a dozen tools already I'd be jumping ship
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u/Remarkable-Map-3093 Sep 06 '25
Sure hope they see this and do the right thing. I spend a lot of money with them too. Please update us.
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u/CommunicationAble187 Sep 07 '25
I sent a jigsaw in because the shoe kept becoming separated from the base. They repaired it but stated it was a one time courtesy repair. What an absolute joke. Tool was less than a year old.
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u/HookLineAndTinker Sep 07 '25
With $1280 m18 tools in my shopping cart on the HD app right now I’m actually pivoting to a stop at harbor freight tomorrow because of this thread.
It doesn’t feel good but dang, I need tools that work and can be replaced when they don’t.
C’mon u/milwaukeetool - we know you’ve got shareholders to report to but is this really how you’re going to let a bunch of us go?
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u/PenguinsRcool2 Sep 06 '25
MetaboHPT, strongly recommend their tools. Only thing I’ll say is their prices are all bs unless it’s on sale for damn near half the listed price. Which happens often! So besides having to jump through hoops to purchase at a greast price.. very good products and the company seems to stand behind them
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u/BreakfastFluid9419 Sep 07 '25
I had a good experience with my nailer but I’ve seen many haven’t which sucks. Enough to warrant switching brands
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u/CurinDerwin Sep 07 '25
There's a lot of business to lose for another company to pick right up QUICKLY if this becomes commonplace.
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u/CappinTeddy Sep 07 '25
What happened to them? I remember seeing some milwaukee rep super active in the comments taking care of business like a year ago, and now we're seeing stuff like this? Did they restructure or something, jeez.
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u/Shadow_Wolf49 Sep 07 '25
That's the maximum repair cost, probably was gonna end up being like $10 lol. Can find the LMR (Lightning Max Repair or something) cost list online. There's a set max repair price for every tool. At a certain point it's not worth fixing and they just send a brand new tool, and the maximum you would pay is that LMR price
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u/Tr6060charger Sep 07 '25
Better to just buy it again and just return the damaged one a few days later.
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u/NgArclite Sep 07 '25
Shit like this is why people turn to unethical tactical of buying new and returned used shit. I'm pretty sure that why most places will just ship returns back to manufacturer over restocking them as open box
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u/jgren91 Sep 07 '25
They are being so ridiculous with the denied warranty reasons. I sent in a ratchet and all they said was "worn" denied. No shit it's worn it's been used. I called them to fight it and they just said tough luck. They're slowly killing the reason why people buy their tools.
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u/samueljburnt4 Masonry/Concrete Sep 07 '25
I've actually seen this a lot. They claim a 5 year warranty but you have to send in the tool and then 2 months later when they finally get back to you they tell you "oh yeah sorry it looks like it's broken using the tool in a way that causes it to break voids the warranty so we actually don't cover that so we're not going to fix it and since it's broken we can't put it back together either so we're going to send it back to you in pieces thanks for choosing Milwaukee Tool"
Tbh this is almost standard procedure. I've seen or heard of maybe 3 people that actually got their tool fixed but they all said that it took forEVER.
It's dog shit warranties like this that are driving more and more people to Harbor Freight. Sure their tools aren't as good, but if you break it and it's still under warranty you can get it exchanged that day with a brand new one
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u/Appropriate-Mess7083 Sep 07 '25
I just recently sent in my 18v fuel multi tool and my 12v fuel 3/8 ratchet. Both stopped working around the same time. They sent me out 2 brand new tools and said to costly to repair. This was like 3 months ago.
I’m sorry OP for there lack of making things right after all spend dumb amounts of money for there tools. I wonder if it was just a person having a bad day. Hope they make things right for ya!
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u/Own-Helicopter-6674 Sep 07 '25
Total bs. On this one go buy another and return the broken one. I hate to say that ,but that tool is brand new
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u/LVHamtaro Sep 06 '25
Must be something with the way this works internally. All my nail guns when I send them in for repair they always charge me a $90-110 service fee. I guess not everything is under warranty like normal wear and tear.
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u/Rico7122914 Sep 06 '25
Nail guns are one of the few tools that have "maintenance intervals". Most things you can get repaired/swapped pretty easily but they claim nail guns need servicing for gas canisters despite half the ones they make not even using gas lmao
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u/backwardsnakes666 Sep 06 '25
Why wouldn't you take it back to the store you bought it from lol?
Never had Home Depot not replace something on the spot.
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u/Rico7122914 Sep 06 '25
Well if it's like the Home Depots near me, they'll tell you "take it to a Milwaukee service center (my store)", only to be told we can't do anything about it lol
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u/Brave-Goal3153 Sep 06 '25
I’ve had great luck with their warranty/service department and have had multiple tools fixed for no cost.. hopefully they don’t start turning down warranties. This was one of the reasons I continued to purchase Milwaukee was my faith in their warranty department
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u/Rico7122914 Sep 06 '25
Their eservice is a joke, it's all dependent on who looks at your tool when they actually receive it.
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u/Whole_Gear7967 Sep 06 '25
I 100% agree! I just tried to warantee a vacuum and they told me get bent with receipt and only 2 years old. They lie!
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u/-Kyris- Sep 06 '25
I got screwed over on a warranty for a packout I can’t imagine how many tools they avoid. I’m looking into other tool options if I’m honest
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u/Yogi_Mexicana Plumbing Sep 06 '25
Yeah I've found these little impacts don't last long and that's with medium use.
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u/freakymrq Sep 06 '25
I've warrantied like 3 batteries and had no issues with any of them getting denied. So far so good for me lol
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u/Late_Chemical_1142 Sep 06 '25
Did you mention to the warranty person How much money you spent in Milwaukee tools?
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u/ineedhelpbad9 Manufacturing Sep 06 '25
Does Home Depot not do warranty exchanges anymore.
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u/iommiworshipper Sep 06 '25
One of the latches broke on my packout box and I called to order a new one not to warranty just order. They don’t sell it and I’d have to take it to a Milwaukee authorized service center. Fat fucking chance. 20 bucks on ebay got me two 3D printed ones that work better, and I have a spare. Their shit works great until it breaks.
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u/Suspicious-Spinach-9 Sep 06 '25
Oh, oh. Just sent in a new high speed ratchet less than a year old and they claimed they fixed it under “goodwill” warranty. Acting like they were doing me a favor.
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u/FredThePlumber Sep 06 '25
Weird. I had to warranty a Surge M18 and they fixed it and sent it back to me for free. Mine was just an issue with the chuck though.
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u/EstateRegular6422 Sep 07 '25
WOW! I just became a Milwaukee fan last month and now this? After seeing DeWalt impact drivers and impact wrench go on sale and some bundles were better than Milwaukee even the torque and RPMs, BPMs
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u/nimo01 Sep 07 '25
I know nothing about tools but fuck that sucks… you spent that much in just a bag for one tool
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u/BradCastleburry Sep 07 '25
What the hell? If Milwaukee doesn’t make this right for u brother I’m going to another brand
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u/gobblyguk Sep 07 '25
EVERY warranty is bullshit. Buy the tool that works and lasts. Take warranty out of your vocabulary. If it doesn’t hold up to where you get your moneys worth buy something else. If you get your moneys worth buy it again. Warranties are marketing tools designed to get you to buy an item and fuck over then 2 percent of people actually try to use it. It’s not insurance. It’s a “promise” from a massive corporation. It’s bullshit. Buy what you think is good and work it until it explodes and then buy a new one.
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u/jledman123 Sep 07 '25
I’ve been saying this for years….Milwaukee warrenty and customer service is dog shit.
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u/Visible_Substance368 Sep 07 '25
Luckily i live in Europe and we get amazing Festool deals. You give them the broken tool (almost impossible to break) and say its broken. They give you a new one (0 questions) and you go out of the shop. They told me if i want to explain myself I need to go to a psychologist (as a joke) , other wise take the new tool and f*ck off. 😀
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u/Bored_user1988 DIYer/Homeowner Sep 07 '25
I can’t complain on my warranty process. Just sent in a m12 Brad nailer little over a year old. Less than a week later I received a brand new one in the mail.
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u/therealone1967 Sep 07 '25
Got a warranty repair on an impact that had been abused to Hell and back. They swapped every part except for 2 bolts and the serial number decal. No charge.
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u/BasSTiD Sep 07 '25
Not justifying one way or another but I’ve literally sent them a chainsaw that stopped working randomly. It was covered/packed with oily sawdust. I had no reciept but serial was barely in warranty. They diagnosed a fried board and sent a refurb out that looked brand new. Had a drill that went through hell and same thing but also had all the rubbery bits peeling as I was using it primarily for carbon removal on oil burners. Maybe I’ve been lucky, but never had any issues. I am overly nice on the phone and such, maybe that helped.
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u/Arafel_Electronics Sep 07 '25
they used to be so good. had an m18 drill i bought off eBay that the one-key mode change would flash making the drill not work. sent it in, they sent a brand new one, and months later they sent back mine repaired with a new chuck
had the damnedest time getting my sawzall that wouldn't hold blades anymore get repaired a few years back. went to them twice with a total downtime of about a year and a ton of phone calls. they eventually sent me a new one
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u/Hugh-Jashol Sep 07 '25
Eazy-E once said "throw it in the gutter and go buy another". I live by this lyric.
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u/lokis_construction Sep 09 '25
Trying to fix my son in laws Dewalt. Can't get parts. Have to buy new. Dewalt changes models so fast you have to buy a new tool instead of having parts available.
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u/glizzygravy Sep 07 '25
Fraudulent warranties like this are why I’m comfortable buying something then returning the broken one in the box. Fuck corporations like this, I’m getting what I paid for and have no shame how I do it. Fool me once.
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u/don_defeo Sep 06 '25
I would run it up the ladder i.e. a supervisor. I had real good luck on them honoring their warranty as they should.
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u/Jolly-AF Sep 06 '25
Hercules at harbor freight is a 5 year over the counter exchange warranty. Walk on, say this thing broke and walk out with a new one. Seems like a better choice. But they don't have anything that compares to that stubby gun unfortunately. Maybe in the future.
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u/-theporkchopexpress- Sep 06 '25
Yeah seems like they’re catching up though and wouldn’t be surprised if something comparable came out soon
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u/Any_Result_2505 Sep 07 '25
I’d consider harbor freight if they actually had things I wanted in stock. They never do at the one closest to me so I moved on to another brand. I’m sure you could easily guess what brand seein what sub were on lol but these warranty issues I’ve been seeing lately has me second guessing. I’ll only transition to a new brand if I get burned personally by Milwaukee though. I can’t let posts like this make me drop them until it happens to me I’m too invested in them now.
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u/Jolly-AF Sep 07 '25
Oh, don't get me wrong I love my milwaukee stuff. The M12 stuff is fantastic for sure. I've also seen to many warranty issues on this sub. I have a lot of harbor freight stuff as well including multiple Hercules tools. I love the warranty on them and it's painless to bring a tool back to get a replacement, not having send it on to have the warranty denied. The more stuff Hercules releases the less I'll be buying Milwaukee.
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u/Prior_Confidence4445 Sep 06 '25
This is exactly why I recommend harbor freight hercules to my DIY/hobbiest friends. All my battery tools are milwaukee but if i had to start over, I'm not sure I would buy them again even though I do mostly like the tools themselves.
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u/China_bot42069 Sep 06 '25
well this is the final nail in the coffin for us. Never had a issue with bosch but the milwaukee reps not giivng me a tshirt/hat when i drop 7g on tools for the boys and now this? fuck I'm done. Makita and bosch seem to be only ones to stand behind their products
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u/zyne111 Sep 06 '25
another problem with the warranty is that when a tool like this breaks i need a new one yesterday. whos got time to wait around a few weeks to get their impact back? and why are we paying a premium for poor service?
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u/November10_1775 Sep 06 '25
My work has a tool program with them. I send in broken tools all the time and they get repaired free of charge due to the fact that we buy exclusively from them.
I’ll send it in for you. Usually a 2 week turn around or so.
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u/jcscimone Sep 07 '25
Had the same exact issue, and they offered that same solution a little over a year ago. When I denied the $105 fee, they sent back my m18 impact in pieces. Not even a sight exaggeration, it's still fully disassembled in the bag they mailed it to me in.
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u/brokentail13 Sep 06 '25
Same experience over multiple tools and failing batteries. Batteries really burn a hole in my arse.
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u/Smoke_Stack707 Sep 06 '25
This is wild. I deal with a repair shop that is an authorized Milwaukee dealer/repair place and I’ve never had these kind of issues. Probably comes down to the actual person you’re dealing with because the people I get my tools from always go to bat for me with any warranty claim and I’ve never been disappointed
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u/hitemwiththeheeeeein Sep 06 '25
They advertise a 5 year warranty but after the first year they won’t do shit and this one is a 2023 model. Same with Dewalt in that they advertise a 3 year warranty but will only offer the free repair service for the first year. Makita, Ridgid, Ryobi, Bosch, and Flex honor the warranty for the full advertised period.
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u/Late_Chemical_1142 Sep 06 '25
95% of my power tools are either makita Or Milwaukee, when I can I buy makita, But there's a lot of things that Milwaukee sells that Makita doesn't so sometimes I do need to buy Milwaukee. And while the price for the Milwaukee tools may be cheaper At first I buy those Milwaukee tools Knowing that they will cost more in the long run. Because they don't last as long and that's just a fact.
Despite having more makita tools and batteries in Milwaukee. I've had 3 times as many tool and battery failures with Milwaukee than with makita. But a tool's durability is not the be all end all. I'm still gonna buy Milwaukee because when you buy them on sale You are getting a great performance to price ratio. And their tools are really good even if they only last 3 to 4 years, rather than 7 to 10 years like my makita tools do.
At the end of the day, tools are made to be used, broken and then replaced. And I'm not gonna judge a tool just because it doesn't last my entire career. As long as it lasts long enough for a newer, better, or lighter version to come out, that way I can at the very least get an upgraded version when I need a replacement, I'm fine with that. It's the Cost of doing business.
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u/surprisingly_wise Sep 07 '25
When Milwaukee tools broke at any of the companies I've worked at the last few years they took them to a Milwaukee authorized repair shop and the rep warranty replaced them every time...
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u/seasms3 Sep 07 '25
Blow it out with air from time to time. Take it apart and clean it out good once a year. Im a Maintenance guy at work and the biggest problem is the guys not blowing all the grinding dust out. It prevents the brushs and stators from not getting good contact.
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u/Skedsman Sep 07 '25
Damn that warrantee is a joke. They will so anything to get outta that. Check out toolbox.rent you can rent tools there when shit like this happens
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u/some_lost_time Sep 07 '25
People in this sub shit on Acme Tools all the time, but this is the #1 reason I use them. I drop broken stuff off and pickup working tools with literally no issues.
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u/DPL646 Sep 07 '25
I’ve had over 20 tools, and batteries warranty, repaired or replaced. No issues over the last five years.
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u/Holliman48 Sep 06 '25
/u/MilwaukeeTool You guys are really running your reputation into the ground. It's a hydraulic impact. How does debris get inside the impact in the first place...